Alphabetical Order
by vernajast
Summary: Naruto had thought this would end with high school. He'd thought he wanted it to end. Now that they were graduating, he wasn't so sure. SasuNaru, high school AU, fluff and UST. One-shot.


_A/N: High school AU, sasuxnaru, graduation day, awkward situation, heh. Not an angstfest. :D I love your comments! Thanks to my betas, MoiyaHatake and Fuyu no Akegata!_

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><p><strong>Alphabetical Order<strong>

**by vernajast**

_sasu x naru_

Sometimes, he wondered what it would've been like if they had never met.

Naruto liked to think that his life would have been a lot easier: no rival to compete with, no jerk to piss him off every chance he got, and no one to cock-block his romance with Sakura. Not that he ever really stood a chance, he knew that now. But what did _Rock Lee _have that Naruto didn't, anyway?

"Thick brows..." he muttered as Lee's name was called. But when the very same boy paused before parting the curtains to turn and give Naruto a smile and an enthusiastic thumbs up, the blond couldn't help but grin back at him. At least it was Lee and not Sasuke...

He stared at the back of his rival's dark head as name after name was called, each with a pause and a round of applause as the students stepped out onto the stage. The graduating students of Konoha High School were standing single-file, hidden behind a thick, black velvet curtain. They were organized alphabetically by family name, so of course, Naruto was standing behind the only other student whose name began with the letter U—_Uchiha Sasuke_.

He flicked a fluffed spike on the back of Sasuke's head and snickered when dark eyes turned on him with a glare. "Hey, teme!"

"What?" Sasuke's cold voice radiated disinterest despite asking a question. It sent a shiver down Naruto's spine that had little to do with the temperature and everything to do with "that look" in Sasuke's eyes.

Forcing his face into his famous "tough guy" look, Naruto poked Sasuke in the shoulder. "Are you really going to some fancy-schmancy law school on the other side of the country?"

"Of course." Sasuke brushed his shoulder where Naruto had touched it, as if to wipe away any dirt or germs he'd left there. "Are you really going to that shitty community college?" His brow rose slowly in genuine question, despite trying to play it off otherwise.

"DUH! Who wants to go to some rich-boy law school, anyway? Wine tastes gross, and the symphony puts me to sleep. BOR-ING!"

Just as Sasuke opened his mouth to remark on how uncultured Naruto was, Tsunade stuck her head between the curtains. "SHHHH!" Her glare promised pain to both boys if they ruined the ceremony.

When she disappeared again, Naruto leaned close to Sasuke and whispered, "I bet you'll miss me, bastard."

The student in line ahead of Sasuke was called and she slipped through the curtain. They were alone in the dim backstage area, the moment Sasuke had been patiently awaiting. In one swift movement, he slammed the palm of his hand into Naruto's chest and shoved him back against the brick gymnasium wall. His fingers dug into the front of the blond boy's graduation gown, and his square mortar board cap toppled neglected to the floor. "I wouldn't worry so much about other people." His leg slipped between Naruto's thighs, and their hips pressed and slid firmly together.

There wasn't enough space between them for Naruto to ignore the way his cock twitched in echo to Sasuke's pressing erection. He tried to speak, but the dizzying rush in between his legs was interfering. "S-sasuke...I..."

"_You_ will be the one missing _this_," Sasuke whispered against Naruto's ear. He dragged his teeth across the thin shell and earlobe, trailed his lips along his tan jaw, and trapped his mouth in a harsh, demanding kiss. Naruto gasped against Sasuke's mouth, surprised and excited by the sudden rush of passion and possession from the stoic bastard. He'd come to understand Sasuke over the years, and Naruto knew the subtle language of his moods — from angry _hn's _to his nearly happy _Tch. Idiot. _But he had never witnessed this kind of desperation. Sasuke held him prisoner against the wall, tangling their bodies, fighting Naruto's tongue for dominance, and nipping and sucking his lips to pink fullness.

Naruto found himself kissing Sasuke back, caught up in the rush of emotion, and he never realized his hands were moving, sliding over Sasuke's body, into his hair, pulling and sucking and suddenly no longer ready for this to end: high school, graduation, this moment...

Neither heard Sasuke's name the first time it was called. Only the loud clearing of Tsunade's throat pulled them back to reality, and even Sasuke had the decency to blush faintly as he passed Naruto's legal guardian on the stairs to the stage.

"Uchiha..." she growled as he passed, and Sasuke didn't try to hide his smirk. He paused on the top step, adjusted his hat, and smoothed his gown. "Granny," he muttered for her ears only as he passed through the curtain.

Naruto remained pressed against the cool brick, huffing softly, eyes unfocused and hazy with lust, confusion, and the need for Sasuke to get his ass back and finish what he had started. "Damn..."

He'd thought this would end with high school.

He'd thought he wanted it to end.

"Ahem. Naruto."

Naruto blinked owlishly at Tsunade. _Oh, right. Graduation. _He smiled sheepishly and picked up his cap from the ground. "It's not what it looked like! I—"

Her dark look turned undeniably murderous, and Naruto snapped his mouth shut. Years with JIraiya and Tsunade had taught him that.

"When your name is called, get your ass on stage." She withdrew through the curtain again, leaving her adopted son to gather his composure. Alone in the dimly lit alcove behind the curtains and stage, Naruto straightened his gown in front of the mirror the school had provided. He teased his spiky hair and poked his now swollen and bitten lips with the tip of his finger. "Fucking Sasuke..."

As his eyes traveled lower, he realized Sasuke had done even more damage: Naruto's gown tented obviously in the front, just below his waist. _Fuck!_

"Uzumaki Naruto." Kakashi's cool voice called him to the stage and he glanced around frantically._ Shit! I can't go out like this!_

Standing alongside their classmates on the stage risers, Sasuke sucked his inner lip to hide his amusement. He could only guess why Naruto had chosen not to wear his hat onto the stage. Instead, the blond idiot was gripping it tightly in his right hand, trying to casually cover his crotch, while accepting his diploma with his left. His cheeks burned bright red, visible even through his eternal tan and scars.

When their eyes met, the blush darkened and Naruto's eyes promised slow, painful death. Sasuke mouthed _'bring it on' _and nodded slightly in acknowledgement as he came to join him on the back row. Naruto plopped his graduation cap onto the top of his head, crooked and falling, and refused to make eye contact with anyone as Tsunade started to make her well wishing speech.

Sighing, Sasuke reached over and deftly adjusted the cap on Naruto's bond spikes until it looked just right. No need to be standing next to a mess, after all, even if it was a mess he'd made himself.

On some level, Sasuke was aware that his mother and brother were in the crowd. His mother would cry, there would be picture taking, and...Sasuke wanted to make sure that they both looked perfect for the photo he would frame and carry along with his other belongings to university. It was nearly 2,000 miles away, after all.

Naruto growled under his breath when Sasuke's fingers brushed his temple, but he didn't try to stop him. He was unconsciously searching the sea of faces for the one cold pair of eyes to rival his best friends'. Sasuke's father was sitting beside Itachi wearing an expression that could fall somewhere between disgust and embarrassment. _For _Naruto..._of _Sasuke...? He couldn't tell. "Jerk..."

"Loser..." Sasuke automatically replied, not even realizing Naruto had been talking about his father.

Hidden behind five rows of students, Naruto slipped his hand into Sasuke's and squeezed. If the Uchiha was surprised, he didn't show it. He simply squeezed it back before shoving it away.

When Tsunade announced that they should now move the tassels on their caps from right to left, Naruto grinned at Sasuke as he flipped it. For years, they had been moving toward this day, and now that it was finally here, he was happy it was his best friend standing beside him. The thought that he wanted Sasuke to stand beside him like this forever came and went with a flurry of unacknowledged emotion, and then they were tossing their hats into the air (well, Naruto did; Sasuke took his off and dropped it on the floor below the risers). The students started filing off stage, one by one, in the order that they had entered, and Naruto followed Sasuke out of the gymnasium, grinning enough for the both of them.

As expected, the Uchihas met them outside, and just as Naruto started to ramble off some awkward reason to excuse himself from imposing on what he had always called Sasuke's "family time," Sasuke tugged him by the sleeve and slid an arm around his waist.

"Oh! Naruto-kun! You simply _must _take a picture with Sasuke!" Sasuke's mother was pointing a camera at them, so Naruto did the only thing he could do: he flashed his best grin and threw an arm over Sasuke's shoulders. "Smile, bastard!"

"Language, Naruto!" Mrs. Uchiha scolded before taking the photo.

Naruto shrugged away from Sasuke as soon as it was done. He never felt completely comfortable interrupting Sasuke's time with his family. Having never had real parents himself—though Tsunade and Jiraiya had tried their best—he felt like he was just in the way of something really special.

Sasuke never confessed to Naruto how much he wished he would stay. He was an Uchiha and in full control of his emotions. To admit something like that, and in front of his family, no less...

He sighed as Naruto waved over his shoulder and disappeared into the crowd.

His father cleared his throat, and Sasuke turned obediently, face trained into neutral passivity. "You have a plane to catch."

Sasuke nodded once and defeated the urge to follow Naruto's blond scruff with his eyes as he weaved through the sea of milling families.

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><p>It was nearly Christmas, and snow fell lightly across the community college campus. Students left trails of footprints all over the quad. Naruto and Kiba had already had a (tiny) snowball fight, made snow angels with Sakura, and written their names (with pee) in the snow. She had called them both juvenile delinquents, and then left to meet Lee for dinner, her cheeks rosy with cold and laughter.<p>

When Naruto and Kiba stumbled up the steps of their shared apartment, each trying to trip the other on the slippery concrete, they both nearly stepped on a small package sitting on the doorstep.

"Hey! It's my new game!" Kiba yelled as soon as he saw it. "Awesome! It got here before Christmas, even though—" He had already torn in to the brown paper wrapping and ripped open the box, but he was just staring down at the contents in puzzlement. "I think it's for you..." He shoved the box toward Naruto's chest, obviously depressed, and disappeared into the apartment.

"Weirdo..." Naruto started to say, but then he caught sight of what was inside the box. Beneath the pale light of the porch lamp, his eyes were riveted on the picture frame nestled safely in the box. It was the photo he had taken with Sasuke on graduation day. It seemed so long ago.

His fingers brushed over the wooden edges of the frame and across Sasuke's image. He hadn't realized it then, but there on Sasuke's lips was the faintest hint of a true smile. "Hn...bastard..."

Tucked underneath the corner of the frame was a neatly folded piece of paper. Naruto leaned back against the wall outside his door and slid down to sit on the cold concrete porch. He tugged the parchment paper from beneath the frame and unfolded it carefully with two gentle fingers. He tried to ignore his disappointment at how empty the sheet was.

Naruto began reading aloud to himself: "_Dumbass..._thanks, jerk..._Your winter break begins next week. Don't make plans."_That was it.

"He thinks he can tell me what to—" Naruto paused, and then, slowly, realization began to dawn and his eyes widened along with his grin. "Hell yeah!"

Sasuke was coming home next week for winter break! Naruto jumped up and ran into the apartment, already mentally making the plans Sasuke had explicitly forbidden. "...skiing, snowboarding...oh, and the fireworks at New Years! It's gonna be awesome-tebayo!"

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><p>On the other side of the country, in a small conservatively-decorated dorm room, Uchiha Sasuke sat bent over a term paper he was writing. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and stretched. His tired eyes were drawn to the picture frame perched on the corner of his desk: himself and Naruto on graduation day. The face grinning back at him tilted the corner of Sasuke's mouth into what those closest to him would call a smile. "Idiot..."<p>

[end]


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